Honda to Drop Hybrid CR-Z, Add a Turbo-Four

2015 Honda CR-Z. (Credit: © Honda)

The Honda CR-Z, despite its good looks and all the excitement that surrounded it when Honda first announced it, has been a disappointment. But a recent report from Car and Driver points toward a restart of sorts for the CR-Z. One that will make it the performance-oriented car that we all wanted it to be.

The Car and Driver report is courtesy of an “inside source” that remains anonymous. This source claims that the CR-Z will make a huge comeback in 2017, and he also says that it’ll be a “force to reckon with.”

The report goes on to claim that the next-generation CR-Z will drop the Fit platform that it is currently based on, and it will move to a 4-inch-shorter version of the Civic’s platform. This will result in the CR-Z growing slightly in its new generation. The report also claims that we can expect to see design cues from the new NSX and the Civic Type R in the CR-Z.

The big news, however, is that the CR-Z will carry a slightly detuned version of the Civic Type R’s 2.0-liter i-VTEC turbo engine. Car and Driver claims that this engine will produce more than 280 horsepower, which would make the CR-Z and incredible piece of machinery, given Honda can keep its weight down.

Additionally, with it being based upon the Civic and carrying a Civic engine, Car and Driver speculates that Honda may market the CR-Z as a performance version of the Civic Coupe. This could result in Honda mashing the names together to create the Civic CR-Z.

If this report proves to be true, look for a CR-Z concept to hit the auto show circuit in 2017. Following a successful run as a concept, then we can expect to see it debut as a production model in 2018.

I am not holding my breath for this one, but I will admit that I am a tad excited.